Hold it or don’t flush: Super Bowl could harm sinkhole mess

FRASER, Mich. â€” A giant sinkhole in suburban Detroit is being threatened by the Super Bowl.

Macomb County public works chief Candice Miller is worried that thousands of football fans will flush toilets at halftime Sunday night. She tells radio station WWJ that it could overwhelm a broken sewer line blamed for the sinkhole.

Miller says her bathroom advice “sounds crazy.” But she fears trouble unless people are willing to hold it â€” or at least not immediately flush.

Crews are building a bypass to get around the broken sewer line in Fraser, but it’s not ready yet. The line affects more than 300,000 people in 11 communities.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has announced grants of up to $100,000 for local governments affected by the sinkhole, which was discovered on Dec. 24.